A Quiet Revolution Brews in the South of Spain

By Saheli RC, writing from Singapore

French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville once said, “In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.” While the end is nowhere in sight, the road leading out of Málaga, one of the oldest cities in the world that has been around for a whopping 2,700 years, is buzzing with optimism and excitement.

Notching up three out of three wins in pre-season, with seven goals scored and only one conceded, one cannot help but notice the susurration of change in the sunny Andalucían air.  Malaga CF or The Bouqerones, as they are affectionately nicknamed, is one of the most historical clubs in the region and it has been making the headlines for all of the right reasons this summer.

Given the current financial debacle in the Spanish league, where more than half of the top flight clubs are struggling to balance their books, the idea of having a ‘cash-rich’ sugar daddy doesn’t sound like a bad deal.  Last year, Qatari businessman Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bought Málaga CF from former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz for a cool €36 million.

The model of buying a mid-level club and splurging on it indiscriminately to build a better squad capable of giving the established ‘big guns’ a run for their buck has become a tried and tested formula in football these days. Look at Chelsea and Man City in the Premiership – while the latter has been aggressively strengthening its squad, the former, under the ownership of Russian billionaire Roman Abrahamovic, has become a serious title contender to the likes of Manchester United.  In Spain, however, the outcomes are less encouraging and the thought of Racing Santander immediately springs to mind.

In light of Málaga’s recent spree in the transfer market, many people have been quick to dub the Andalucíans the “Spanish Man City”. It doesn’t help that both teams wear an identical shade of blue on their home kits. This comparison is slightly unfair since there are several reasons why the Málaga project, at least on paper, looks to be a more exciting prospect than what the Abu Dhabi United Group is doing in the north of England.

Cash-rich but not big spenders

For big, financially strong clubs, splurging 40, 50 or even 60 million on a world class player is part of being in this business while the minnows look on dolefully. As Real Madrid completed its signing of Fabio Coentrao for 35million while down the east coast Barcelona captured Udinese forward Alexis Sanchez for a cool 40 million, Málaga splurged a mere 60 million to bring in eight new players to muscle up its squad. These eight players are by no means scraps at the bottom of pile that other financially troubled clubs like Mallorca are forced to be content with.

While these new signings are no Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, they possess a wealth of experience in top flight football and in Europe, which will provide the kind of squad depth Málaga needs. You can have a fantastic coach and his revolutionary ways to take on the big guns, but often a thin, inexperienced squad makes sustainability a real challenge for the club. Case in point: RCD Mallorca, last season. Having started out impressively, being the only club in the first half of the season to have taken points off Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Villarreal and Sevilla, they waned away and finished a miserable 17^th in the end, narrowly avoiding relegation.

Onto some of the new signings:

-  Ruud Van Nistelrooy (free transfer): He came on a free transfer from Hamburg and with his vast knowledge of the Primera Liga, during his tenure with Real Madrid, as well as Europe, he comes in a perfect mentor-like role for the team’s young strikers: 18 year old Juanmi and Rondón. Not to mention, ‘Van Gol’ still has the ability to slide home a quick goal here and there to give Málaga a definite advantage.

- Nacho Monreal (€6 million): Young and past paced, this leftback was targeted by Liverpool over the summer before electing to join Málaga from Osasuna.

- Jeremy Toulalan (€10 million): He is experienced and comparatively still young, operating as a defensive midfielder, with good vision and distribution. He played an instrumental role in Lyon’s lineup and will provide a good link up in Málaga’s midfield.

- Santi Cazorla (€21 million): Probably the biggest steal of the season, this deal showed that not only are the Málaga management calculative in their summer transactions, they are also shrewd negotiators. Only a few seasons ago Villarreal turned down an offer from Real Madrid for this talented winger. Quick paced and versatile, Cazorla can play on both sides of the wing and would undoubtedly provide that top class edge in the attack.

- Joaquin (€4 million): Once touted as one of Spain’s great prospects, he faded into the background in recent years. However, he still remains a great player with a good eye for the game, his ability to dribble and launch pinpoint crosses into the six yard box. More importantly, Joaquin also has the vast experience of someone who has played in La Liga for almost twelve years.

- Isco (€6 million): Another steal and this time from Villarreal’s neighbour Valencia. This talented forward was to be a fantastic prospect for Valencia’s future but an alleged disagreement with coach Unai Emery saw Isco forcing this move to join the Bouquerones. Under the tutelage of ‘Van Gol’, his prospects only got brighter.

Málaga also brought in experienced central defender Martin Demichelis and his countryman Diego Buonanotte from Bayern Munich and River Plate respectively. Buonanotte made headlines last year when he got into a horrific car crash that left three people dead. He has yet to regain his pre-accident form but with Pellegrini, the wait might not be long. Another typical attacking midfielder, if on form, he opens up Málaga’s option in the midfield along with former Real Madrid man Julio Baptista.

Despite their eye-catching run in the transfer market, they did, however, hit a snag when prime summer target Javier Pastore declared his decision to remain at Palermo. If Málaga had managed to acquire the services of the talented, young Argentinean, they would’ve definitely set themselves for the next couple of seasons.

Lest we forget the Academy 

In an attempt to build a super squad, Málaga is by no means ignoring its academy. After Jesualdo Ferreira was shown the door last season due to a poor run in form, former Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini was brought in to salvage the situation. In response, the Chilean introduced not one, not two but three of Málaga’s talented youngsters, from the academy, into the side.

This season, despite the reinforcements brought in, it appears that Pellegrini is still counting on Málaga’s prodigal midfielder Francisco Portillo, who just renewed his contract for another two years, another central midfielder Reico who signed his first professional contract with Málaga, running up to the summer of 2015 and the Spanish U-19 international forward Juanmi, currently away with the national team in Romania for the European Championship.

The blend of youth and experience comes into play at this juncture and under the guidance of an experienced manager like Manuel Pellegrini, the team is expected to gel quickly and effectively.  

And to show just how serious Sheikh Abdullah is, concerning the long term viability of the Málaga project, he appointed two high profile names in Spanish football in directorial roles: first, local boy Fernando Hierro has been named the Sporting Director and next, former Athletic Bilbao and Spanish international Julen Guerrero is in a similar directorial role for the Academy.

To think, only at the beginning of the year, they were rooted at the bottom of the league and destined to languish in the Segunda division in the coming season. In just seven months, they sprung up, as if struck by a final moment of inspiration, and eventually finished the campaign just outside the top half of the table.

The current squad now has the potential to turn Málaga into serious contenders for the remaining European places, and perhaps even give the big two some competition. If things progress the way they are at the moment, we might see Málaga groom itself into serious contenders of the Europa League in the next couple of seasons and perhaps even the Champions League further down the line.

As the revolution quietly takes place within La Rosaleda, under the watchful guidance of a competent management, soon the gazes will turn toward Málaga to re-inject that desperately missing spark back into the Spanish league. (Of course, there is also that high possibility all of this pre-season optimism will fall flat on its face once the league gets under way, but I reckon we could all do with a bit of positive thinking.)